kidphc

Part of the reason I eneded up with the 400, was the ability to do Winlink, and SMSgate via the touch screen. Didn't like the whole T9 style texting of the Kenwood. Would of ended up with the ID5100a if it weren't for DPRS, yes you can add a TNC, but was trying to avoid that. Also, wanted to avoid a laptop in the computer, the boot up time was a big one. I did however, wanted to see resource location

The TNC on the FTM400, is limited. It was more for visual representation on a map using APRSDROID, with a cell phone, as well as using APRDROID it is easier to see the raw aprs packets data, which is a pain in the but on the FTM 400. Not sure if it will relay SMGATE/winslink data from the phone to the radio. READ: NO digipeater possibilities in stock format. If you need full packet control you can add a TNC, and bypass the onboard TNC. However, at that point I would recommend a Kenwood 710ga, which has a fully accessible TNC, and a windows laptop. You could do pretty much the same thing incorporating a Bluetooth dongle. The FTM400, from what I get doesn't follow all the standard APRS formatting either, think it was a weird nemea data. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Yup, there is actually a lot of traffic, especially by big highways. Makes 10meters look like a barren waste land. Guess most people's antenna setups aren't good. With the Wilson flex (4ft), I hear less then with the hamstick. Got a shark 10m antenna ( full size not the min) it's a tad short then the MFJ, also a lot thinner. Whip is much thicker. I will report back in when I get the chance to test it. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Funny enough swapping to a 10m hamstick netted 1:1.12. Well till it fell off on the highway and got run over.. now it is a bit higher. Lol Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Current update. This morning on the way to work the antenna and 1/2 the nmo decided to divorce me on the highway. It went flying off and promptly got destroyed by the car following me. So new mount for further down the 1/4 panel, going to use the 5/8ths fire ring mount.

Water jet to cut precise lines. You could mock one up in Autocad and 3d print it? Realistically, probably going to be a hole saw with a jig saw. Slowly so it doesn't melt. The fumes are not so good to you. Maybe mount the things to acrylic and place it in the enclosure. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

First off welcome and congrats. This is going by the p.o. box listed on the fcc uls database. The one in Pittsville/Willard (about 50 miles) is noted as local use. Until it is mounted to a higher up. You are fortunate the eastern shore is flat. With some elevation ( on a tower) and a high gain antenna when it is mounted to a tower, you may be able to hit it. Annapolis one is about 36.32. Depending on the height of the two repeaters antennas. Probably your best bet (since the open water doesn't block transmissions). May also get some local trophosperic ducting across the water. Just because it isn't listed doesn't mean there aren't any repeaters close by. So spend some time listening to the repeater channels. Use the forum map to tryvand contact the owners of the repeaters. They may be able to give you an idea of height of their antennas and expected coverage. Otherwise, 2 options. 1.) You are limited to local coms unless you get a ham ticket, bit more ham repeaters not huge amount. 2.) Time to start saving up and learning how to build your own repeater. Also, a yagi up at least 30 feet pointed to the repeaters maybe able to hit it. But generally, you will have to mod and tune an amateur one for gmrs. What do you have or plan on getting? Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I think every one us wonder to whom this is directed to. Ic9700 is awesome for sattelite work at home. Probably for me: Ic9700 for upper band work and dstar. - mm bandwidth compatibility - may work with the newer aredn meshes Flex 6400m for hf work. - really digging the maestro ( hf work from the bathroom you know) Open spot 3 for a hotspot - cheap Chinese dmr for the portable connection -crossband while roaming the house. Yaesu ftm300 for yaesu wirex and alternate 2m/70cm radio. - the flexibility of pdn mode or rf work - dual c4fm (semi permanent beacon on one side) Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

One big negative to the ft991a is that it is too old and lacks the hardware to be used as a pdn. Nor can it connect to the HRI 200. There is a difference between a wire-x repeaters and fusion repeater. Wire-x you have internet access to most rooms. Fusion just another digital mode. The fusion/wire-x repeaters are still being sold at a heavy discount, as long as it is activated in a certain time period. For small ham clubs, it makes a huge difference when upgrading aging repeaters or wanting to put up a digital repeaters. It is why you still see moe and more of them, especially in rural areas. Join the 10m c4fm group on Facebook and watch videos. Especially, if you have a good 10m antenna. I have another post where I got a catzknob for my ft991a. It is awesome because you can assign functions to them instead of digging through the soft menu, basically may free up some of the onscreen quick menu buttons. 2 negatives. 1.) The eprom can only be written to 100,000 times. Which means you may want to be choosey with what to assign them. 2.) Everytime I power everything up and touch a know it reverts to the minus setting. So if you set squelch, then turn it to say 6. Power off and back on the squelch will be 0. Also some functions like noise blanker which has an off. The know does nothing till you touch the soft menu from "off" to "1". Awesome radio either way. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

My input, all my opinions. I chose fusion. Why? At the time all the DStar radios (this was for mobile) only did DPRS. If Kenwood had made an updated 710ga that did DStar and APRS. I would probably be a DStar man. There are more DStar repeaters in my area then Fusion, DMR, and amateur P25. I looked at the DMR. One thing I didn't like was first you have to pick a group then a time slot. I understand the principles of DMR but it seamed like it would be harder to reach out and talk to more people some one (multiple branches so to speak). Plus if it isn't in the code plug have fun trying to program it on the fly. Yaesu's Wires-x is interesting. For example Americalink one of the biggest rooms can be accessed via HRI200 (in my case analog mode), a Yaesu radio that supports PDN node mode, or a linked repeater. If you came over a HotSpot, say with a DMR radio and a hotspot, it isn't the actual Americalink room, but a bridge room. So using Droidstar, I love having the HRI-200 up, the FT991a connected to a repeater and during the Net on Americalink. Because the FT991a can hear the conversations the HRI-200 can hear it but since Droidstar is coming across the bride, you get NADDDAAA. If you did get a hotspot, highly recommend, you only gain more with the handheld or mobile unit. The only one that can really do cross mode to DSTAR properly, is the SharkRF Open Spot 3, $$$$$. All the others don't do it due to the lack of the second AMBE chip, from what I understand. Also I had a conversation with a big RADIO guy ham. A friend of a friend were met up to exchange gear. He said personally, Yaesu C4FM/Wire-x is the most natural sounding and cleanrist, especially on WIDE digital mode. On narrow digital mode, it can get the same robo sound of the other digital modes. He has a DStar, C4FM, DMR, P25 and NXDN radios, hand helds, mobile and base stations. Plus a DMR repeater at this house. His choice was C4FM, P25 then the others. He kept asking me why DStar, when I was picking his mind. So that wasn't a positive. From what he and I could tell more people were on C4FM then DMR when just roaming about. DMR can be a bit sparse out in the countryside, where you are most likely to find a DStar repeater, a little less frequent is a C4FM. Really, wish someone would could come up with some type of cross protocol platform outside of the hot spot. The different digital modes have us so fragmented now. Really going to come down to what repeaters support what mode and what the locals are using. Especially, if you aren't going to do a hot spot. If I were to buy an Open spot 3, I'd probably pick up a DMR radio. Especially, since it seams the early ones were developed for DMR. Then C4FM being added as well as DStar.

Yup less the 6 inches for the tuning tip from 10m (28.400) to mid point for 11m. Just tuned and marked the whip. Even then it's about 1.8 when half way between the marks for both band edges. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Found some photos looks like a mish-mash of the 400. Is it me or does the body of the radio look like the body of a Yaesu FTM400? Looks like it is going to be a great radio. Available 25khx spacing. Testing showing 49.x Watts (manufacturer cushion to allow for tolerance variations). Looks very spectral clean with almost no spurious emissions. My only gripe "hi and lo" power settings from what I can see in the manual. So you get 5w or 50w, wouldn't a medium of 15-20w power setting been nice? don't like running radios at full power unless I need to. https://fccid.io/MMAXT575/External-Photos/Ext-Photos-5212922 https://fccid.io/MMAMXT575

Hope you guys had a great father's day. The girls went a bit nuts this time around. Here are some of the pics of the gifts, most were ham related. Didn't bother with pics of all the stuff. Wish I had a pic of the Custom have cave sign.

Get two for sota/pota work and look at running it as a dipole. They have cheap adapters for it. https://chameleonantenna.com/shop-here/ols/products/cha-spider-asb https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/mfj-347?seid=dxese1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlMaGBhD3ARIsAPvWd6h5XdEnLGt7uRIE2jQM_2RDhiXQwr07V_FlXo7GGci4maATznamK9IaAg3oEALw_wcB https://www.gigaparts.com/mini-dipole-6-meters.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlMaGBhD3ARIsAPvWd6iAiF1CenefC2T07IeKKSa-A28K0I38gkfpDAcXWMjeOQMuXrASQ5waApb3EALw_wcB

Yup. Too bad my random wire blows for 6m. I could get out so far was about 10miles. Picked up a dxcommander, need to build it. I am hoping I can have it setup so I can catch the early band openings. Random wire did get out to Tenessee a couple of weeks ago during a 10m opening. Did it on Olde 28.400 ssb. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

It is a mfj hamstick and not a hamtenna. Yes, I did a sweep. It is actually pretty wide banded. You are going to get at most 1.7 (10/11m depending on ground plane and tuning) on the edges. Pretty shocked, with the nmos (bottom loaded coils) it was much narrower. Up to 2.3 on the edges when tuning for the middle. Do I think it is incredible. No. I know enough to know that low swr doesn't mean it is a good antenna. Seems to hear well enough, been hearing Michigan and Florida on 38 usb a lot lately could be their setup with band openings. I get responses when calling at 5w on am on 11m. Not sure how far some of these people are. But for $35, I think it is great. Chose it because of cost, the fact there was no loading coil. Personally, if it weren't for covid I'd probably would of waited for hamfest probably could of gotten for about $15 then. Sorry, no captures of the nanovna. Should update, I ripped off the nmo this weekend in west Virginia. Spent some time grinding the mount a bit thinner and had to flip the nmo cap to get it to connect again. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Yeah was shocked with the copy. Especially, with digital. One dropped packet, there goes the whole message. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Got some awesome knife edge. I have to imagine it was knife edge propagation. Was in west Virginia driving through the mountains. On route 48, I was hitting k3erm, on the FTM 400, in Frederick, MD. Some 84 miles through the mountains. Couldn't hit a digitpeater some 20 miles away though. Had to double check repeaterbook. There are no other wire-x repeaters on that frequency any closer. Thought it was pretty cool. Always intresting what happens. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

If you ever get the want to be able to mount without leaving too much of a trace. I would suggest looking at pro clips. I used one for a while with my HT, I needed somewhere to clip the hand mic to. It now has a magnetic amp pattern mount on it to clip a cellphone to for APRS. https://www.proclipusa.com/product-finder/vehicle

Think I misunderstood your original post. I had always thought that mounting one upside down also accomplished the something. Reading your second post I think we are on the same page. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Don't you get more isolation by mounting it below and to the otherside? Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Nmo weren't designed to have the back side exposed to the environment (weather). I searched for a while and found water resistant ones but they aren't much different from the regular one in design. My hood mount bracket, the nmo doesn't seal well on both sides. I ended up pulling the plastic cover back, had to because the center pin broke connection. The manufacturer used hot glue to seal it up. After soldering. I ended up using hot glue to quickly fill the cap on and pressed and clamped till set. I purposely used too much so it oozed out. Then covered the whole backside with water proof rtv silicone. For the topside (way more then I normally use) I used a lot of conductive contact grease. You do not want to use to much or you will short the outer to inner. So some cleaning up is necessary. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

So does the Kydera dr-880 uv. 5 watts probably not as effective for crossband repeat but notice the current options are basically Chinese. Any reason an ht and not a mobile unit. Just curious as to the use case. I do have a friend that his house acts like a Faraday cage. So he bought a kenwood 71a to cross band to hit repeaters with his handheld in the house (when cooking during nets). He choose that one because of the autoid function on crossband repeat. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Not many handhelds that I know of with crossband repeat. Almost all the ones that I know of are higher end mobile units not ht. Most of the hams I know will only use it when walking from their truck/car to get some extra range. Say walking down the hill but trying to hit the repeater on the otherside. Personally, I found it tiresome throwing out the call sign with the mention I am cross band repeating and what frequencies. But eh I am lazy. Really only i know of capable is the Yaesu Ft51r. Not sure if even hts with true duplex are capable nowadays. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

77 years young. Got 90 year olds comming in all the time for me to work on their cars. The way they bounce around, they make me feel old and I am only 47. I am going to recommend you find a local ham club. They will help, at a store they are alot of times trying to sell you stuff. Worst with a ham club you can pay some dues make a bunch of friends without ever taking the test. You are going to want to regardless. Hope you have fun where ever you take this hobby. Some of the greatest people I have met. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk